近年來韓國虐待動物案件數量大增，為此韓國司法部計劃在9月對民法進行修改，將“動物不是物品”寫入民法，希望借由提高動物的法律地位來減少虐待動物行徑。

South Korea plans to change its civil code to grant animals legal status, Choung Jae-min, legal counsel at the country’s justice ministry, told Reuters.

韓國司法部法律顧問莊載民（音譯）告訴路透社稱，韓國計劃修改民法，賦予動物法律地位。

The amendment will probably be approved by parliament in September and will recognise animals as sentient beings, with a right to protection and welfare.

韓國國會很可能會在9月通過這項修正案，承認動物是有知覺的生物，且擁有被保護及享受福利的權利。

The number of animal abuse cases in the country increased from 69 in 2010 to 914 in 2019, data published by a lawmaker’s office showed.

韓國某議員辦公室發(fā)布的數據顯示，韓國虐待動物案件數量從2010年的69件上升到了2019年的914件。

Under the current legal system, animals are treated as objects, Jae-Min said. Once the Civil Act declares animals are no longer simply things, judges and prosecutors will have more options when determining sentences, he said.

莊載民稱，按照現行的法律體系，動物被當成物品來對待。一旦民法宣布動物不再是物品，法官和檢察官在裁決時將有更多選擇。

"Animals are not objects. Certainly, they are not objects. But there are people who can’t control their anger and take it out on their dogs,” Kim Gea-yeung, head of an animal shelter for abandoned dogs and cats in Seoul, said.

首爾一家貓狗收容所的老板金基楊（音譯）表示：“動物不是物品。它們當然不是物品。但是有些人控制不住自己，將怒火發(fā)泄到了寵物狗身上。”

Jin-hui, a cream-coloured Pomeranian, was buried alive and left for dead in 2018 in the South Korean port city of Busan.

2018年，一只名叫金輝（音譯）的奶油色博美犬在韓國港口城市釜山被活埋，差點死掉。

"His owner lost his temper and told his kids to bury him alive. He was barely alive when we rescued him after it was reported, but the man wasn’t punished as the dog was recognised as an object owned by him,” Gea-yeung said.

金基楊稱：“它的主人大發(fā)脾氣，讓孩子將狗活埋。我們在接到報告后將其救出時，這只狗已經奄奄一息。但是狗主人并沒有受到處罰，因為狗被視為他的所有物。”

Animal rights groups welcomed the justice ministry’s plan while also calling for stricter penalties for animal abuse and a ban on dog meat.

動物權利保護團體對韓國司法部的這項修正案表示歡迎，同時呼吁對虐待動物行為實施更嚴厲的處罰，并推行狗肉禁令。

"The amendment of the Civil Act defining ‘Animals are not objects’, is an attempt towards great change, and we welcome it,” Cheon Chin-kyung, head of Korea Animal Rights Advocates (KARA), said.

韓國動物權利倡導組織KARA的負責人千金慶（音譯）說：“民法修正案對于‘動物不是物品’的定義是一次邁向巨變的嘗試，我們對此表示歡迎?！?/p>

"However, abuse, abandonment, and neglect of pets have not improved in our society and need to be controlled by subsequent legislation,” he said.

他說：“然而，虐待、遺棄、忽視寵物的情況在我們的社會沒有得到改善，需要后續(xù)立法加以控制?！?/p>

"One of the most typical cases of such abuse is the consumption of dog meat, which should also be prohibited by law,” Chin-kyung added.

千金慶補充道：“虐待動物最典型的一個行為就是吃狗肉，這一行為也應該被法律禁止?！?/p>

In South Korea, many abandoned dogs inevitably end up being caught and sent to meat farms. Animal abandonment rose to 130,401 in 2020 from 89,732 cases in 2016, the Animal and Plant Quarantine Agency said.

在韓國，許多被遺棄的狗最后不可避免地被抓起來送往屠宰場。據動植物檢疫機關稱，韓國被遺棄的動物數量從2016年的89732只增加到了2020年的130401只。

South Korea has an estimated 6 million pet dogs and 2.6 million cats.

據估計，韓國目前有600萬只寵物狗和260萬只貓。

英文來源：The Animal Reader

翻譯&編輯：丹妮